Comments from the Devs

[Tomino]

Soooo... do you think casters are going to get Auto Spirit Dart? or just Auto Bash with a staff?
I never really though about that, and I sincerely hope they can design something new than just having casters auto-poke enemies to death.

[Hyan]

They have something else in mind for spellcasting, and would like to explain it in a separate post.

[Meko]

I also hope that they add some 'lore' to the dungeons. It's one thing to have a room with monsters in it but they can go a step further and add some surroundings. A la WoW or RIFT (I just ran across these)

http://cdn.riftjunkies.com/wp-conten...creens/hk7.jpg

[Hyan]

So, what's the story behind that castle?

[Meko]

That's not my point. My point is the old FFXI 'dungeon' or 'instance' did not offer an interesting environment (imo). See screenshot:

http://www.aleczan.com/FFXI/blogpics..._Salvage04.jpg

[Patriarch]

That's not my point. My point is the old FFXI 'dungeon' or 'instance' did not offer an interesting environment (imo). See screenshot:

http://www.aleczan.com/FFXI/blogpics..._Salvage04.jpg

but ill be damned if we didnt go there religiously

they may not have been the most luscious landscapes, but we came back every time

[Takiwaki]

but ill be damned if we didnt go there religiously

they may not have been the most luscious landscapes, but we came back every time

We came back because we had no choice! lol

[Lucavi]

I'm really hoping 'cool down' doesn't mean 3 minutes.

They haven't learned a damned thing if that's what it means in this game.

[Crizto]

So, what's the story behind that castle?

Super vague description incoming...

It's the inside of a fortress built by dwarves. Inside said fortress is one of the 6 "super crazy want to kill you" dragons (the water on) which was sealed however many years ago. This is going to be the setting of the next 20-man raid, and inside it seems to be a 3 way clash between the "water forces" who want to revive the dragon, the "death forces" who want to revive as well and control it, and the players who want to kill or re-seal it.

[Tomino]

Lore is indeed welcome when introducing a dungeon, but at the same time I didnt actually minded the more "vague" FF11 instances. While WoW story-driven dungeons are like ten times better, on the long run it just feel very boring, or dull, to see the same events happen over and over again.

No surprises, GW2 plans something nice on the matter : story driven 1st run, slightly redesigned mob placement for any other "farm" run.
FF14 team could indeed learn something from that, tho I'm more inclined to believe they'll just copy WoW for now.

[Lucavi]

but ill be damned if we didnt go there religiously

they may not have been the most luscious landscapes, but we came back every time

Because the droprates were shit and it was one of the only ways to obtain end-game gear. Yeah, people are gonna go there if that's where the loot is, but at least dress it up if you're going to boast about having such an "immersive and gripping" storyline.

[Patriarch]

Because the droprates were shit and it was one of the only ways to obtain end-game gear. Yeah, people are gonna go there if that's where the loot is, but at least dress it up if you're going to boast about having such an "immersive and gripping" storyline.

Can't argue that point.

veyr much agree

[Spira]

in terms of scenery.. I think FFXI did good for a 9 year old game. A lot of places look nice if you bother to admire the scenery.. tho this may not necessarily be a lore aspect.
Hall of the Gods would probably be one of the richest lore places, i think

usually endgame dungeons are the places they design best... Castle Zvahl.. well.. the walk up to the throne room is still an amazing place.. Sky with its hollow floor thingy.. Sea for the trippy colors and disc-shapes in the interior... Alzadaal isn't that bad on remnant top floors altho they are kinda bare. in fact ToAU had some really nice places with Arrapago Reef and the chasmy parts of Halvung.

I also particularly like this place..

but I bet like 95% of the player base has never been there...

One reason why XI didn't really look that great was because the locales are usually very small and constraint and don't give you much of a grandiose feel because they didn't have a high ceiling. tho a few BCs aren't like this and actually feel rather cool. Empyreal Paradox, Abyssea - Empyreal Paradox (lol), Celestial Nexus, that Airship, and I also liked Nyzul boss floors... Walk of Echoes wasnt so bad, but the BC itself was disappointing

[Kurokikaze]

in terms of scenery.. I think FFXI did good for a 9 year old game. A lot of places look nice if you bother to admire the scenery.. tho this may not necessarily be a lore aspect.
Hall of the Gods would probably be one of the richest lore places, i think

usually endgame dungeons are the places they design best... Castle Zvahl.. well.. the walk up to the throne room is still an amazing place.. Sky with its hollow floor thingy.. Sea for the trippy colors and disc-shapes in the interior... Alzadaal isn't that bad on remnant top floors altho they are kinda bare. in fact ToAU had some really nice places with Arrapago Reef and the chasmy parts of Halvung.

Say what you guys will about lol "FF feeling" but you definitely felt like you were at the end of an FF game when walking to the throne room. Least I did. ;x

[Kaylia]

That's not my point. My point is the old FFXI 'dungeon' or 'instance' did not offer an interesting environment (imo). See screenshot:

http://www.aleczan.com/FFXI/blogpics..._Salvage04.jpg

In FFXI's defense, promyvion, riverne and a few areas offered great "dungeon-like" experience. Sure, it wasn't loot oriented, but it was still fun to run through these placesé



Also, Astral Candescence's beastman dungeon were great. Sure, the layout was copy pasted, but running through a zone that open once every couple of months was one of the best feeling you could have in the game. The effort you had to do to get through the places made the event very satisfying.

[Crizto]

Zi tah will always be my favourite zone. Nice scenery and I loved the music.

The entire castle and throne room scenery was my fav in terms of a dungeon look. That area in the past was even better with the creepy music and the imps in the sky. I always thought ffxi was very visually appealing if you paid attention. But you never got to do a lot of things in the cool zones.
Hnm camping zones were just empty circles
salvage was just all the same
dynamis was nothing special cept for them turning down the brightness
Indoor sea wasn't that bad though

[Grey Jorildyn]

I remember getting lost in indoor sea and salvage areas. So much the same. Unless I brought up the map I had nfc where I was until I got the hang of it.

[Spider-Dan]

Which is exactly what we're saying about itemization and how horrible it was/is. Expansions shouldn't come out with side grades. "Hey more shit i have to go farm to throw in my dps macro" or "woot new gear that blows what i have out of the water". I'll take the second option as long as it's handled properly.

The problem is that without specialized items, when new gear comes out, it's either a) better than what was available, in which case everyone wants it or b) not better than what was available, in which case no one* wants it.

With specialized items, there's enough variation that some people will want the new STR piece first, some will want the new evasion piece first, some will want the new STP piece first, etc. Overall, players have more incentive to try to collect more items when they don't have to make a conclusive decision on which one to use. And let's be honest: item collecting is one of the primary goals of an MMO.

*"no one" can be substituted with "people who are still climbing the gear ladder"

[Takiwaki]

A specialized item system is great for a system that supports it, which 14 does not (hopefully it will). If each job class had the versatility enough that side grades offered something different in terms of how the job is played then, I can see it being great.

If I can equip gear on my Pug that allows it to become more of a support role for example if needed, by making my chakra aoe. among other things in a particular set of gear, I can see collecting gear being very cool. and If not then have the materia system the thing that we need collecting that will augment abilities etc

[Lucavi]

In FFXI's defense, promyvion, riverne and a few areas offered great "dungeon-like" experience. Sure, it wasn't loot oriented, but it was still fun to run through these placesé



Also, Astral Candescence's beastman dungeon were great. Sure, the layout was copy pasted, but running through a zone that open once every couple of months was one of the best feeling you could have in the game. The effort you had to do to get through the places made the event very satisfying.

Agreed. Nothing else to say, really. FF did quite a few things right.

Edit: On the topic of specialization, how about specialization that actually improves multiple areas of each class? How about Lancer being able to either beat the shit out of things, or parry everything in sight with such a long-range harrying weapon? I don't really know what they're planning to do with Lancer (or any other class, for that matter) outside of what they initially told us, but I'd love to see some gear that increases the damage modifier that Lancer's attacks encompass when Lancers attack from a "sweet spot". Give them a raw damage buff when standing on the sides, and a bigger one from standing in the back, and don't make it some tiny, miniscule number that only theorycrafters and nerds can obsess over.